Shareholder propelled himself into Royal Ascot contention with a hard-fought victory in the bet365 Two Year Old Trophy Conditions Stakes at Beverley.
The son of American sire Not This Time – whose progeny includes Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter – cost €460,000 at the Arqana breeze-up sale last month and was making a speedy racecourse bow in the colours of Wathnan Racing.
Sent off the 6-4 favourite, jockey James Doyle had plenty to contend with early on as Shareholder was slow to jump before taking a keen hold.
Once he got a bit of cover, Karl Burke’s charge found his stride and he switched to the middle of the track to launch his run around a furlong from home.
Moving Force was not going to go down without a battle though and despite having to concede 7lb to the winner, he made Shareholder pull out all the stops with just a short head separating them at the line.
Betfair make Shareholder the 4-1 second-favourite for the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, with Aidan O’Brien’s Whistlejacket the 7-4 favourite.
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